Wilmette Public Library Local History Digital Collection

Rev. Lawrence W. Wick (1940- ) oral history

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Track 4, Transcript p. 11-14A: Track 4, Transcript p. 11-14A
Transcription: Track 4 LW: And so this congregation, then, did go through that kind of turmoil. Yet have since resided in the same location and have grown and have gotten stronger. Yet as I'm eighth pastor to serve the congregation, which is a fairly large number of pastors to serve a congregation in that number of years. And went through several periods in its history of some rapid turnovers. Um, but, uh, today in 1978, uh, I think objectively I can say that it's as strong as the congregation has ever been ---- stronger than its ever been with the largest Sunday school the congregation has ever had. We have an increasingly Lawrence Wick, cont. 12 large number of young couples joining the church. So, uh, and financially we are completely debt free. Now we have a fairly substantial endowment fund and, uh, we have no financial problems. So the congregation is very strong and is doing very well and I think is, uh, a very large attribute and contributor to the community of Wilmette. RA: I would agree. Tell me, do you have any charter members? LW: Yes. We still have a few charter members left. We have, of course, Florence Melby and Marion Dorband, both of whom live in Wilmette. In fact, they lived over near you. RA: That's right. They were my neighbors for twenty-five years. LW: And, uh, they were and are charter members. RA: And their parents before them? LW: Right. And, uh, Olga Arguette who lives in Glenview is our third surviving charter member. So we have three charter members still on the rolls. Um, we serve a rather diverse geographical area. Probably more so than most congregations in Wilmette because there were not ---- for many years ---- there were no Lutheran Church of America congregations on the North Shore from Evanston to Waukegan. Uh, so we really had a big area to serve. We have families right now in, uh, Glencoe, Highland Cont. 13 Park, uh, many in Winnetka, some in Kenilworth. Uh, many of our families live in north Evanston and, uh, we have people from the city of Chicago who are actively involved in the congregation. Skokie, Park Ridge, Gilenview.. RA: Oh, you do cover a wide geographical area. LW: Yes. We do, which is rather interesting. RA: It is most interesting. I was interested in Mrs. Long's account of how she was LW: She lives in Glenview. RA: That's right, but she said she was originally from Wilniette and then when they moved there they changed and now she's back. LW: And she's really been a --- one of our very good members. RA: I had never met her until the evening I attended the forum. She's a delightful person. LW: Yes, she is. She really is. Very delightful. So, the congregation has gone through its ups and downs like every congregation does, It has ---- at one period in its history --- uh, when they decided that the pastor ought to have living quarters separate from this, they purchased a little brick bungalow at Eighth and Greenleaf. Arid that became the parsonage then. While that was the parsonage, they were able to purchase the house at 700 Linden which was immediately behind the alley there. And then within, ont. 14A oh, a four year period in the late sixties they purchased 706 and 720 Linden. They owned those three houses together and then they were able to purchase 707 Greenleaf which is the house next to the church over here. So when I came the congregation owned four houses and, uh, we have diverted ourselves of three of those. RA: At, I'm sure, a profit. LW: Yes, it was a wise investment, but we've retained the house next to the church which we ---- you saw ---- for a number of reasons we have kept that house. We sold the others because there just wasn't a use for us to have them. We were not in the real estate business. So that's basically, I think, uh, a rough sketch ---- a history of our ---- of our church in a nutshell.
Creators: Wick, Lawrence W., 1940-, Interviewee; Adler, Rhea Saul
, Interviewer
Media Type: Audio; Text
Item Type: Audiocassettes
Description: Interview of Rev. Lawrence Wick, pastor of Wilmette Lutheran Church, by Rhea Adler in Wilmette, Illinois, in April 1978. Describes the history of the church from a Swedish congregation.

ABSTRACT:

Pastor - Wilmette Lutheran Church - Third parish served — Family and community participation — Home—owner
Educational background — Sears Roebuck international scope Theological training at Lutheran School of Theology — Chicago -
Frederick Lutheran Church, Virgin Islands - Chaplain at
Elgin State Hospital - Institute of Pastoral Care -
Ordination — Richmond, Illinois pastor — Purdue University,
Master of Science degree in Counseling — Doctor of Ministry
degree, Chicago Theological Seminary
Community activities - Board of Rotary - Wilmette Library Board - Wilmette Clergy Council

Elaboration of the Wilmette English Lutheran Church — Back (south
end) of church first built - 1929 built sanctuary for
$60,000 - Crash - Couldn’t make payments — Moved out -
Worshipped in Masonic Temple. Church building sold to
Board of American Missions of old United Lutheran Church Eighth pastor — Congregation strongest it’s been - Debt free
Endorsement fund — Large contribution to Wilmette community — Three charter members in present congregation

Controversy among Lutheran churches — Mergers — A.E.L.C. — Danish — Finnish — Lutheran Church of America solidified -
Dr. Robert Marshall of Kenilworth - Member of Wilmette
Church made president
Local congregation strong in worship and music — Organ — Overhauling by Curt Roderer of Evanston
Church staff

Illinois Synod of Lutheran Church of America — 800 acre camp near Oregon, Illinois
Changes in congregation — Youth activities — Church extension — Benevolence
Church related colleges
World missions — Peace corps — Third World attitudes-changes

First church in Wilmette - Community Church - Included various denominations
Place of Publication: Wilmette, Illinois
Date of Original: April 1978
Date Of Event: 1929
Subject(s): Lutheran churches
Oral histories
Wilmette Lutheran Church
Pastors
Personal Name(s): Wick, Lawrence W.
Local identifier: R 977.32 WI
Language of Item: English
Copyright Statement: Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright Date: 1978
Copyright Holder: Wilmette Public Library
Copyright Holder Contact Information: 1242 Wilmette Ave.
Wilmette, IL 60091
U.S.A.
Recommended Citation: Wick, Lawrence W., and Rhea Saul Adler. Dr. Lawrence Wick. Wilmette, Ill: Wilmette Public Library District, 1978.
Contact: Wilmette Public Library
Email:refdesk@wilmettelibrary.info
Website:
https://www.wilmettelibrary.info/

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